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Jana Nayagan (People's Hero; Tamil, Unreleased)
Director: H. Vinoth
Joseph Vijay knew what was coming. This movie was supposed to be his swansong before he retired from acting as he embarked on his new career as a full-time politician. Following in the footsteps of giants of the Tamil film industry, such as Karnanithi and MGR, Vijay stood to fill his predecessor's big boots.
By releasing his through-and-through political film as Tamil Nadu enters polling mode, Vijay must have been advised of the hurdles he would encounter. The ruling party, DMK, is also feeling hot under the tall collars (Stalin wears thick-collared shirts), as people have been vocal in expressing their dissatisfaction with the government machinery and the so-called carelessness of the local government. To top it all, with the increasing number of YouTubers, there is no shortage of brickbats hurled at DMK. Adding the cherry on the icing are the BJP and national government speakers, who waste no time in attacking them. With Vijay's new party, TVK (Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam), further diluting DMK's dominance, DMK had to dig deep into its armoury to put a spanner in the works for Vijay and TVK.
Jana Nayagan unabashedly portrays Vijay as a saviour who saves Tamil Nadu from the clutches of numerous corrupt, unscrupulous politicians from both sides of the fence. These gangsters have no qualms about cheating the state blind for their personal interests. Rowdyism and dishonesty are the order of the day. Proudly displaying his TVK tattoo on his forearm, he reminds viewers of his new party. Coincidentally, the character in the film has the initials TVK for Thalapathy Vetri Kondan (The Winning General).
There is a direct attack on the ruling party, DMK. The villain boasts of having generations of his family in politics, making a glaring reference to Stalin, the Chief Minister, his father Karunanithi, and Uthayanithi Stalin.
Vijay also tries to project an image of MGR, the much-loved Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He attempts to re-enact the iconic scenes from the film 'Enga Veetu Pillai' (1967). He even acquires a whip from an AI-generated image of MGR, reliving the scene from the song 'Naan Aanai Vitaal' in which MGR whips the baddies into submission.
The mainstay of the story is that politicians are trying to flood India with guns, stirring social discord and triggering inter-religious riots to create anarchy in India.
The rest of the movie is just crap. There is too much mindless violence, preachy, unrelated dialogue, and unnecessary near-war scenes outside a town hall featuring drones, robots and helicopters.
Given that it is a purely political film with direct accusations of fraud and thuggery against the ruling party, and possible accusations of terrorism against a certain section of the community, should Vijay be surprised that his film is stuck at the Censor Board?
P.S. Given that TVK has won the elections and that Vijay (@ Joseph Vijay) has been installed as the Chief Minister, it must be safe to publish this article.
P.S.S. One moment, the film is deemed unsuitable viewing; just 2 months later, with a change in state government, the same film is kosher and is given an ‘A’ certificate for adult viewing. It just shows how the civil service is swayed by the ruling party.
Farouk Gulsara (asokansham@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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